Football NSW, the governing body for football in New South Wales, Australia, has appointed Stuart Hodge as its new chief executive.

Hodge arrives with over 18 years of experience in sports administration, which includes a four-year stint at Football Federation Australia (FFA), the country's national governing body for soccer.

He will join Football NSW from his current role at the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS), where he works as director of marketing from its headquarters in Doha, Qatar.

"We conducted an extensive and thorough search, receiving applications from a large number of impressive individuals from around the world," said Anter Isaac, Football NSW chairman.

"Stuart was the stand-out candidate and the person we unanimously believed was the best-credentialed for this role. We have no doubt that Stuart's skills, experience, expertise and collaborative approach will enable him to lead this organisation through its next phase of growth and development and enhanced delivery of services to our members."

Hodge himself said that he was "honoured and humbled to be given the opportunity to join Football NSW".

He added: "I regard this role as one of the most important in football in Australia."